


Hold Me Tightly, Tiny Fairy

by aqua_relle



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Canon Compliant, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Juvia is trying her best, Juvia leads as she should, Slow Dancing, no beta we die like mages
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:21:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29373000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aqua_relle/pseuds/aqua_relle
Summary: The morning always promises a new beginning. Gray and Juvia might be ready to take that step together...literally.
Relationships: Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser
Kudos: 10





	Hold Me Tightly, Tiny Fairy

The sun shone through translucent curtains, diffused on the worn wooden floor of the bedroom, the light shaped by the shadow of tree branches right outside the window. The yellow tailed bird native to the surrounding forest had woken up an hour ago at sunrise, their soft song slowly coaxing a still slumbering Juvia awake.

Heavy arms reach up to gently rub tired blue eyes, the movement slowly transitioning into a full body stretch against the twin sized mattress. Sighing in relief, Juvia turns away from the wall, opting for a comfortable fetal position tangled in the pastel pink sheets, wanting to rest for a few more blissful minutes. She is  _ SO _ exhausted from yesterday’s job, that she figured she had earned this extra moment of peace before officially starting the day and training.

It was only a few seconds later that her hopes crumbled as a loud metallic  _ CLANG  _ came from somewhere in the house, causing her to jerk her eyes open in alarm. Sitting up swiftly, she glances to her left to find the other bed completely empty, save for a discarded navy blue t-shirt.

_ ‘Where is Gray-sama?’ _

Immediately bracing herself for danger, she got out of bed in a defensive stance, tip-toeing toward the door. Turning the handle with minimal noise, she looked both ways into the hallway before stepping out. The coast is clear, but she flattens against the wall, listening. 

So much for that extra five minutes of sleep; she’d have to take a nap later.

Juvia was an extremely powerful fighter, she was once part of the Phantom Lord’s Element 4 after all, but she is also very precise, waiting for a tell-tale sound of struggle to round the corner to the living room and help Gray out (The love of her life!  _ How dare they touch him. _ ). 

However, no such sounds came. Only more clunking coming from the kitchen.

_ `A peculiar smell...onion?` _

Juvia’s furrowed brow betrayed the many questions swirling in her tired brain: why would anyone break into their house in the middle of nowhere, kidnap Gray-sama, just to use their kitchen and utensils to make breakfast? Juvia had her moments, but she was self-aware enough to know that that conclusion was ridiculous. She chuckled at her own thoughts, before considering the only other option.

‘ _ Is Gray-sama cooking? _ ’

That would be a first, because not only did the man NEVER eat breakfast (it drove Juvia NUTS, doesn’t he know it’s the most important meal of the day??), but she had also never seen him cook and so the water mage had been under the assumption that he did not know how to. Consequently, she always took charge of meals, the ice maker relegating himself to the dishes. 

Despite her confusion, she rounded the corner and was met with the very same sight she had just deemed impossible. Gray-sama. In his boxers. With her pink apron on. 

Oh yeah, and there was a huge mess of flour on the counter. 

"Gray-sama?"

The raven haired man stiffened right up, slowly turned his head in Juvia's direction, sending a nervous smile her way.

"Hey," he said weakly, a tinge of pink dusting his cheeks. 

Juvia furrowed her brow, and took a few steps forward. Gray shifted forward at the same time, partially blocking the water mage’s view of the disaster on the counter. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Nothing.”

They stare at each other for a moment, before Juvia sighs in disbelief.

“Come on now Gray-sama, Juvia promises she won’t be mad,” she says chuckling, circling around his side.

The counter was indeed a mess: some kind of dough surrounded by a flurry of flour and what seemed to be the five spice powder. Haphazardly cut green onions were pretty squished on a cutting board (Juvia was very curious as to how one could mess up chopping green onions, but Gray seemed to have managed). Despite this, true to her promise, Juvia simply giggled and reached for a rag in the drawer beside the sink. 

“Let’s clean together okay? I’ll make us something after.”

Gray, who seemed clearly embarrassed, turned around and mumbled something quietly. The bluenette turned towards him.

“Sorry, what was that Gray-sama?” the bluenette asked, wringing the rag in the sink. 

Gray let out a heavy sigh before turning back around to face her.

“Nothing Juvia, it’s- I guess I just wanted to do something nice for once.”

Oh.

_ Oh.  _

The water mage could feel the heat crawling up her neck at his words. She hid her face in her hands in an attempt to hide her blush for the man in front of her. 

Why would he say that? Juvia thought. Had she done something exceptional lately? She wanted to tell Gray that he does enough nice things already, he shouldn’t feel the need to-

The metallic ring of the rag hitting the inside of their sink snapped her out of her trance, bringing her attention back to Gray, who had finished wiping down the counter. He was now leaning against it, palms clutching the edge, knuckles turning white at his harsh grip. His intense gaze bore into the cheap white countertop. 

Noticing the familiar warning signs of an oncoming anxiety attack, Juvia gently pressed her palm against his shoulder blade, reminding him of her presence. 

“Gray-sama?” she asked in a hush.

The ice-make mage lifted his head, so that his teal eyes met sky blue ones. 

“I don’t deserve you, Juvia,” he whispered back.

Juvia examined him for a few moments, noticing the near purple eye bags that marked his exhaustion. She also knew he was tired - 

“Why does Gray-sama say that?” she tried, seeing if she could get him to talk.

She knew that asking Gray the meaning behind his words was sometimes a hit or miss when he was anxious, as he had learned to bottle up his trauma from a very young age. Though he had shared his feelings with his friends many times, Juvia included, it still didn’t break this protective measure he had come to make a habit over time. 

Plus, she already had an idea of what he was talking about: after his father’s second death, their fight against Tartaros and the disbandment of the Guild, Gray had not stopped blaming himself and she could tell the guilt was eating at his heart bit by bit, everyday. 

“I don’t wanna talk about it right now,” Gray affirmed, curling his body a little closer to the counter as if to shield himself.

“Alright,” Juvia said, rubbing his back in small circular motions, “Anything Juvia can do?”

Gray seemed to relax considerably at this, but said nothing.

“Come on,” Juvia tugged on the hem of his shirt, “Let’s sit down Gray-sama.”

The raven haired man grunted in acknowledgement and, but instead of following Juvia like she expected, he pulled her back in a tender embrace. 

Usually, this would be another moment where the water mage would explode from euphoria at being held by the man. Her brain would short circuit and she would only have one thing in mind: making Gray hers. However, just as she had at his father’s grave, she simply held the man back, her hands resuming their ministrations on his shoulder blades in an effort to rub some of the pain away. 

Juvia held the man close, grateful to be there to comfort him. He wasn’t often this vulnerable with her, despite living together for 6 months now. The water mage was working on boundaries and these moments were validation that she was actually making progress, that they were able to trust each other a little more each day. As thoughts swirled in her head, their breathing became synchronized and they just existed together for a quiet moment. 

Approximately five minutes had passed when Gray whispered in her hair:

“I miss the music of Magnolia.”

The statement took her off guard and she took a step back to examine the man’s face. 

“Yeah?”

“Mhm.”

“Well, it does make sense,” Juvia hummed pensively, “We did have a lot of concerts at the guild…Juvia does miss Mira’s beautiful voice, and even Gajeel-kun’s...screeching.” 

Gray snorts, “Dancing is more his calling.”

“For sure!” Juvia giggles.

Both mages laughed, their breaths intermingling in their close embrace. Eventually, chuckles ended in a sigh and Juvia couldn’t help but blush once again as Gray leaned his forehead against hers.

Another serene moment together.

It was short lived though, because Juvia perked up suddenly, startling Gray. 

"Does Gray-sama know how to dance?" she practically squeaked.

“Uh…” Gray looked to the side in embarrassment.

"Is that a no?"

"Maybe," he muttered.

Juvia let out a breathy chuckle, "No worries! Juvia will show you!...If that’s okay?"

The bluenette desperately tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach while waiting for his answer. Sure this might have been her idea, but it had been very spur of the moment (not a very Juvia thing to do). If she wasn’t still in love with the man, Juvia would be irritated that after three years Gray still had this effect on her. She wanted to hate it so bad: after all many of her friends at the guild had warned her about Gray’s initial disinterest, and though she reacts by denying it all in favour of calling them her “love rivals” instead, somewhere she is terrified that the man she’s loved for so long has never and would never reciprocate. 

Juvia knew her friends had a valid point, because she was aware could be happy with other, more giving men like Lyon-sama, who had confessed his love to her multiple times. In truth, she had thought of giving up, especially when she caused the downfall of Silver Fullbuster. She felt guilty for so long, especially after telling Gray. She would never be worthy of Gray-sama after being the cause of so much pain. 

Thankfully she mostly gave up that negative rhetoric before their current living situation.

_ Shortly before the guild was disbanded, a few weeks fresh from the battle against Tartaros, Mirajane, Elfman, Lisanna and of course, Gajeel organized one of the aforementioned concerts to boost morale. This time, Gajeel had been forbidden from the stage, which the iron dragon slayer was not happy about, but took with grace. After setting up for the performers, Gajeel slumped down beside Juvia at a table near the back. The bluenette was resting her head on the wooden surface, not even acknowledging her best friend’s presence right in front of her. _

_ “What’s wrong rain woman?” _

_ “It’s been a while since anyone called Juvia that.” _

_ “Yeah well you’ve been looking particularly gloomy these past few days…Plus it just rained for like three days in a row.” _

_ Juvia smiles and lightly slaps his shoulder. _

_ “You know that it is rain season right now in Magnolia Gajeel-kun?” _

_ “What can I say, you’re fun to tease rain woman.”  _

_ Juvia scoffs. They enjoy each other’s company in the for a moment before Juvia lets out a beleaguered sigh and rests her head on the table. _

_ “Are you okay?” _

_ “...Not really.”  _

_ Gajeel gestured to a certain shirtless raven-haired man, currently talking to Erza and Mira at the bar.  _

_ “Is it about stupid ice-make over there?” _

_ Juvia sits straight up. _

_ “He’s not stupid!”  _

_ She sighed and shifted away from her friend. _

_ “Juvia is the one who’s stupid…” _

_ “You’re not stupid...,” Gajeel let out a sigh of his own. _

_ Gajeel wasn’t necessarily a mean guy (okay maybe he liked to torture his friends a little more than he’d like to admit), but when his usual reaction would have been to tease the water mage further, this admission of kindness surprised Juvia greatly. She stared at him with wide eyes, as if she was still trying to process her friend’s words. Her raven haired friend simply chuckled and kept speaking:  _

_ “Listen, loving someone like you love him isn’t stupid…there’s a reason you’re still holding on to it and wether or not it’s meant to be, you can’t give up without figuring that out.” _

_ Juvia, still dumbstruck, has her eyes glued on the Iron Dragon Slayer as he gets up from his sport beside her and heads to a crowded table on the other side of the room. He bends down seemingly talking to someone, a blue head emerging from the group beside him. Both of them head to the nearly empty dance floor. _

_ Juvia admires them swaying together, a small smile tugging at her lips. As Gajeel spins Levy to the rhythm of the music, she thinks that all would be okay as long as she had Gray-sama and her friends around. _

A soft grunt brings Juvia back to reality. She looks up to Gray, who was looking back at her expectantly.

She sighed contentedly in reply and put a hand on his waist, the other reaching for his right hand. She’d make Gajeel-kun (wherever he is) proud today. 

"I’ll lead okay Gray-sama?" she breathed.

“Okay, Juvia,” Gray said as they both settled into position, “but how are we going to do this without music?”

Juvia looked up at him and started humming.

Gray looked back at her with a question in his eyes, but he didn’t have time to ask as Juvia took a step and off they went in their small living room. The first few steps were a little wobbly, but as Juvia picked up the tempo Gray followed her easily. The wooden planks creaked as Juvia made Gray spin, the improvised tune swirling in the small space between their bodies. 

After a minute or so, Juvia sensed the ice mage was finally starting to loosen up in her arms, feeling his muscles relax and seeing a smile creep up on his face. 

_‘When was the last time Gray-sama smiled like that?’_ she wondered.

Lost in thought, Juvia hadn’t realized that she had stopped humming or paying attention to what she was doing at all.

“Ouch! Juvia watch out-”

And off they were falling all over each other on said living room floor. 

After their impact against the floor, Juvia peered down only for her eyes to meet Gray’s who were already wide in embarrassment. 

“Oh my god, sorry, sorry Gray-sama!” the water mage scrambled to get off of him.

“It’s okay Juvia,” he groaned, as she sat up beside him, looking away.

When Juvia looked back at him their eyes met again, however instead of it being awkward, Gray simply exploded in laughter. Surprised, Juvia joined in with a giggle as she watched him on the floor, the morning light from the window making the ice mage glow, making him look...warm. 

As Gray gradually calmed down, his chuckles faded into the sounds of the yellow-tailed bird outside. As the calm morning atmosphere settled back in, Juvia suddenly remembered how tired she was, deciding to lay down beside the man and close her eyes to catch up on those missing five minutes.

“I just miss home...y’know?”

Juvia opened her eyes and turned her head to see Gray looking up at the ceiling. 

“That’s okay Gray-sama...Juvia misses Fairy Tail too.” she whispered back.

He sighed exasperatedly and stood up, offering his hand to Juvia.

“Can we keep dancing?.”

“Of course, Gray-sama, but remember you still owe Juvia some onion pancakes after,” she said as she sat up and gave him her hand. 

“If you let me try to lead this time,” Gray pulled her up. 

“Okay, Gray-sama.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Title inspired by Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" 
> 
> I just want my first OTP to be soft together. I was obsessed with the rawness of Gruvia in my teens, as an adult I find comfort in what they could've been.


End file.
